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One Mile At A Time: "Unfortunately as of May 15, 2024, Hyatt and SLH will be terminating their relationship, in what they describe as a mutual decision."
Important World Of Hyatt Info
Points Wire Note:
Hilton Honors will have an exclusive partnership with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH) going forward. I don't expect the award rates to be great, but maybe they'll surprise me.
Many SLH properties participate in Virtuoso and SLH's own program withIN. Which program is better will depend on the property. Use this link to search and book with extra benefits.
There's a targeted Amex Offer for stays at Four Seasons properties!
You can get $150 back when you spend $750+ at a Four Seasons in the US. Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Anguilla, Bahamas, and Saint Kitts & Nevis. It's only valid on the room rate and room charges.
The offer expires July 11, 2024.
Reservations must be made via fourseasons.com or in-person.
Four Seasons Preferred Partner
If you're booking a Four Seasons property, there's no excuse not to book via Four Seasons Preferred Partner.
Benefits include:
Unlike many preferred booking programs, Four Seasons Preferred Partner can book any public rate, including Advance Purchase rates.
Basically, if you see a rate on the Four Seasons site, it can be booked with VIP perks. you just need to work with a luxury travel advisor who has access to the program.
Award Wallet: "A new Avianca LifeMiles award sale is now live. The promotion offers a 20% discount on awards on selected routes. The promotion applies to certain routes from Miami and San Francisco to destinations in South America. It applies only to economy flights operated by Avianca and not any other Star Alliance partners, nor does it apply to premium cabins. The promotion is valid for bookings through March 16, 2024."
Frequent Flyer Bonuses: "Receive a $20 Best Western Bonus Card for every $100 Best Western Travel/Gift Card you purchase. The bonus card is awarded on purchases of up to 5 gift cards. Purchase cards by Mar 18, 24. Bonus cards expire on Aug 31, 24."
According to YouTuber, Joe Barreto, Citi is set to (finally) launch a card to compete in the premium card market. In fact, Citi is expected to launch a personal and business version of this card in the third quarter of this year. Both will have benefits such as travel and purchases protections. Naturally, Priority Pass lounge access is expected as well.
While I'd love to see new cards offered by Citi, I'll believe it when I see it. I've been hearing rumors about their new premiums card since late 2022!
The Bulkhead Seat: "The Confidante Miami Beach is part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection, but it might be most famous for being the setting of Dua Lipa’s “New Rules” video. I stayed at the hotel last year and found the experience a mixed bag. It’s perfectly located for enjoying the beach, but service and elite benefits were spotty at best. I’m happy that it’s getting a huge renovation and reopening as an Andaz at the end of 2024."
Points Wire Note:
I booked several clients at The Confidante via Hyatt Privé a few years ago. Many of my clients had similarly mixed feelings about the property. Hopefully, the rebranding as an Andaz will mean a nicer and more consistent experience when the property reopens later this year.
One Mile At A Time: "Hong Kong-based oneworld member Cathay Pacific will be introducing a new business class on its Boeing 777-300ERs, and the product will be known as Aria Suite. This new seat was initially supposed to be introduced as of the second quarter of 2024, but there’s no longer an exact timeline, beyond the product debuting in 2024."
Skift: "Kayak this week released a tool that it says can read flight fare information from a screenshot and then search for a better price."
"After finding a flight on another site, take a screenshot that includes the complete itinerary and price. Click the “upload screenshot” button within the PriceCheck tool and select that screenshot."
"Kayak says it searches hundreds of sites to see if it can find a better price for that same flight."
The Amex Business Platinum is a card built for benefits rather than the ability to earn a ton of points. However, it often comes with a hefty welcome bonus, if you know where to look.
Welcome Bonus
It's a bit of game trying to find the best welcome bonus offer for the Amex Business Platinum. The public welcome offer is typically 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend $15,000 in 3 months.
Generally, my affiliate link matches the public offer and the public offer has been subpar for 6+ years. As a result, I've been sharing ways to get better welcome bonus offers.
Today, Amex released a public offer of 150,000 Membership Rewards points that matches the best available offer. As a result, my affiliate link has the best offer for the first time in years. Unfortunately, they've also increased the minimum spend required to earn the bonus from $15,000 to $20,000 in 3 months.
If you are considering applying and would like to support my work, you can find more info here.
*Please keep in mind that you still might receive a targeted offer with a higher welcome bonus. Recently, I've seen offers for 200,000 points.
Bonus Categories
Benefits
There are plenty more benefits which you can learn about here.
Annual Fee
$695
One Mile At A Time: "In November 2023, it was announced that major changes would be made to Alaska Mileage Plan as of March 2024. At the time, no exact dates beyond that were given. There’s now a major update — the new award pricing is being rolled out between March 11 and March 31, 2024, so we’re going to start seeing this new pricing now."
"New award pricing will roll out today and throughout the week for travel from the United States to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and for travel within the Middle East and Africa."
"Then remaining regions will be rolled out in subsequent weeks, with all the new pricing being live by the end of March 2024."
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